Ben Johnson

Canadian reaction Canadians initially rejoiced in the reflected glory of winning the gold medal and breaking the world record. Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney watched Johnson set the new world record and after the race congratulated him over the phone. "It's a marvellous evening for Canada," Mulroney said in the televised conversation. Newspapers covered the occasion by concocting words such as "Benfastic" (Toronto Star, September 25, 1988) to describe it.

Two days later, Canadians witnessed the downfall of Johnson, when he was stripped of his gold medal and world record. Mark Tewksbury, a Canadian Olympic swimmer hung a bed sheet banner out of his Olympic Village apartment window expressing 'Hero to Zero in 9.79'. In the first week following the disqualification, Canadian newspapers devoted several pages a day to the story. One headline right after the exposure asked "Why, Ben?" (Toronto Sun, September 26, 1988). Because of the Olympic scandal, the Canadian news agency Canadian Press named Johnson "Newsmaker of the Year" for 1988.

Competitors implicated in doping controversies Johnson was not the only participant whose success was questioned: Carl Lewis had tested positive at the Olympic Trials for pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine. Lewis defended himself, claiming that he had accidentally consumed the banned substances. After the supplements that he had taken were analyzed to prove his claims, the USOC accepted his claim of inadvertent use, since a dietary supplement he ingested was found to contain "Ma huang", the Chinese name for Ephedra (ephedrine is known to help weight loss).

The highest level of the stimulants Lewis recorded was 6 ppm, which was regarded as a positive test in 1988 but is now regarded as negative test. The acceptable level has been raised to 10 parts per million for ephedrine and twenty-five parts per million for other substances. According to the IOC rules at the time, positive tests with levels lower than 10 ppm were cause of further investigation but not immediate ban. Neal Benowitz, a professor of medicine at UC San Francisco who is an expert on ephedrine and other stimulants, agreed that "These [levels] are what you'd see from someone taking cold or allergy medicines and are unlikely to have any effect on performance." Of the top five competitors in the race, only former world record holder and eventual bronze medalist Calvin Smith never failed a drug test during his career. Smith later said: "I should have been the gold medalist."

The Dubin Inquiry After the Seoul test, Johnson initially denied doping, but, testifying before the 1989 Dubin inquiry, a Canadian government investigation into drug abuse, he admitted that he had lied. Charlie Francis, his coach, told the inquiry that Johnson had been using steroids since 1981. Before that, his personal best (without drugs) was 10.25 which was good for a teenager back then, fast enough for third place in the Weltklasse Zürich meeting 1985 and 1986, for instance.

In Canada, the federal government established the Commission of Inquiry Into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance, headed by Ontario Appeal Court Chief Justice Charles Dubin. The Dubin Inquiry (as it became known), which was televised live, heard hundreds of hours of testimony about the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs among athletes. The inquiry began in January 1989 and lasted 91 days, with 122 witnesses called, including athletes, coaches, sport administrators, IOC representatives, doctors and government officials.

Comeback In 1991, after his suspension ended, he attempted a comeback. He returned to the track for the Hamilton Indoor Games in 1991 and was greeted by the largest crowd to ever attend an indoor Canadian track and field event. More than 17,000 people saw him finish second in the 50 metres in 5.77 seconds.

He failed to qualify for the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo but made the Canadian Olympic team again in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain after finishing second at the Canadian Olympic trials to Bruny Surin. He missed the 100 metre finals at the Olympics, however, finishing last in his semi-final heat after stumbling out of the blocks.

In 1993, he won the 50 metres on January 7 in Grenoble, France, in 5.65 seconds, just 0.04 seconds shy of the world record. However, he was again found guilty of doping just after the race – this time for excess testosterone – and was subsequently banned for life by the IAAF. Federal amateur sport minister Pierre Cadieux called Johnson a national disgrace, and suggested he consider moving back to Jamaica. Johnson commented that it was "by far the most disgusting comment [he had] ever heard". In April 1999, a Canadian adjudicator ruled that there were procedural errors in Johnson's lifetime ban and allowed him to appeal. The decision meant Johnson could technically run in Canada but nobody would compete against him. They would be considered "contaminated" by the IAAF and could also face sanctions. On June 12, 1999, Johnson entered a track meet in Kitchener, Ontario, and was forced to run alone, against the clock. He posted a time of 11.0 seconds. In late 1999, Johnson failed a drug test for the third time by testing positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a banned diuretic that can be used to mask the presence of other drugs. Johnson had not competed since 1993 and had arranged the test himself as part of his efforts to be reinstated.

In 1999, Johnson made headlines again when it was revealed that he had been hired by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to act as a personal trainer for his son, Al-Saadi Gaddafi, who aspired to join Perugia, an Italian football club. Al-Saadi ultimately did join Perugia but was sacked after one game when he failed a drug test. Johnson's publicist in Canada had predicted in The Globe and Mail that his training of the young Gaddafi would earn Johnson a Nobel Peace Prize.

Late 1990s and beyond Johnson briefly acted as trainer for Argentine football player Diego Maradona in 1997. This occurred at York University, Toronto.

In 1998, Johnson appeared in a charity race in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where he raced against a thoroughbred race horse, a harness racing horse and a stock car. Johnson finished third in the race.

According to a 1998 article in Outside magazine, Johnson spent much of the latter part of the 1990s living downstairs in the house he shared with his mother Gloria. He spent his leisure time reading, watching movies, and taking his mother to church. He lived in a spacious home in Newmarket, Ontario's Stonehaven neighborhood. He claims to have lost his Ferrari when he used it as collateral for a loan from an acquaintance in order to make a house payment. His mother died of cancer in 2004 and Johnson lived with his sister afterwards.

Shortly after his leaving Libya, it was reported that Johnson had been robbed of $7,300 by a Romani gang in Rome. His wallet was taken, containing $7,300 in cash, the proceeds of his pay for training Gaddafi. Johnson gave chase, but was unable to catch them after they vanished into a metro station.

In May 2005, Johnson launched a clothing and sports supplement line, the Ben Johnson Collection. The motto for Johnson's clothing line was "Catch Me"; however, the clothing line never caught on. Johnson claimed that he was sabotaged by a "Mystery Man" inside the doping control room immediately following the 100 metres final in Seoul. He also stated that 40% of people in the sports world are still taking drugs to improve their performance.

In August 2008, Johnson filed a $37 million lawsuit against the estate of his former lawyer Ed Futerman, claiming Futerman made unauthorized payments from his trust account to pay bills and 20 percent commissions to a hairdresser recruited by the lawyer to act as the sprinter's sports agent. In 2012, the lawsuit was dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court by summary judgment on the basis that "there were no genuine issues raised requiring a trial".

At present, Johnson lives in Markham, Ontario, and spends much of his time with his daughter and granddaughter. He also continues to coach, notably with New Jersey Devils defenceman P.K. Subban. In 2010, he released his autobiography entitled Seoul to Soul. In the self-published book, Johnson reviews his childhood in Jamaica, and his early bout with malaria. A Canadian Press article described the book as "an unconventional sports autobiography."

Rivalry with Carl Lewis The duels between the two competitors reached immense popularity, fans all over the world watched the duels with excitement. They matched 17 times. Lewis won the first eight, then Johnson won seven out of nine races. In all these years only one short verbal exchange between them is known. They were very different in various aspects. They came from different countries; one from Canada, one from the USA. While Ben grew up poor, Carl's parents both went to college. Ben liked to party with his other rivals and had the reputation of a ladies' man; Carl on the other hand did not party often and was not as popular among the other athletes. Ben was incredible in the first 60 metres and had difficulties in the last 10 where Lewis was the fastest one. Carl benefited from his elegance and speed endurance whereas Johnson had impressive strength. He could bench press 165 kg, weighing only 72.

Advertising career In March 2006, television spots featuring Johnson advertising an energy drink, "Cheetah Power Surge", started to receive some airtime. Some pundits questioned whether Johnson was an appropriate spokesperson for an all natural energy drink considering his history of steroid use. One ad is a mock interview between Johnson and Frank D'Angelo, the president and chief executive of D'Angelo Brands, which makes the drink, in which he asks Johnson: "Ben, when you run, do you Cheetah?" "Absolutely," says Johnson. "I Cheetah all the time." The other commercial includes Johnson and a cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, and encourages viewers to "go ahead and Cheetah."

In May 2017, Johnson appeared in an advertising campaign for Australia's leading mobile bookmaker, Sportsbet. The campaign launched Sportsbet's new Android app, with Johnson cheekily saying it "has tested positive for speed and power, again and again". The campaign tagline was "Putting the 'Roid in Android" and concluded with Johnson in the starters' block on a racing track, telling punters to "get on it!" The advertisement was pulled after complaints from various parties.

Documentaries The CBC Radio documentary series Rewind broadcast an episode titled Ben Johnson: A Hero Disgraced on September 19, 2013, for the 25th anniversary of the race, revealing 20 athletes tested positive for drugs but were cleared by the IOC at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. An International Olympic Committee (IOC) official told the CBC that endocrine profiles done at those games indicated that 80 percent of the track and field athletes tested showed evidence of long-term steroid use, although few were banned or had their medals stripped.

In October 2012, ESPN and the BBC dual-financed a documentary entitled 9.79*, which explores the doping scandal of Ben Johnson at the 1988 Summer Olympic 100 metre final.

In 2025, Paramount+ and GameTV ordered a satirical docudrama miniseries on Johnson, Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story, from Anthony Q. Farrell and New Metric Media.